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Omega class destroyer
The Omega class destroyer was an Earth Alliance warship, manufactured by Rocketdyne at the Neue Hanse Orbital Shipyard in Earth orbit. Following the Earth-Minbari War, it became the most powerful and ubiquitous capital ship of the Earthforce fleet . Technical Specifications A continuation of many of the design elements from the Nova class dreadnought, the Omega possessed a large rotating section, allowing the crew to operate in gravity, eliminating the constant need for handholds and straps that often hindered the older zero gravity warships. Ships of the Omega class were equipped with a DX-419 tracking system, supposedly an improvement over the standard XB7 units used during the war, though several officers have noted that they never worked right. By 2261 the system had at least begun to be upgraded. The Face of the Enemy Points of Departure Production of these ships started during the Earth-Minbari War, where construction was carried out at a number of different locations to prevent them all being destroyed in one large attack. As with most older Earth designs, this type does not possess artificial gravity; instead it relies on a rotating section to simulate normal Earth gravity. The weapons systems on Omega class destroyers are mostly directed either directly forward of back requiring the destroyer to manoeuvre potential targets into those positions to do the greatest damage. Though none were completed before the Battle of the Line, the first of the new Omega class began rolling off the construction lines shortly after the wars end. And Now For a Word During the Earth Alliance Civil War and under orders of the Clark administration, the design of the Omega-class destroyer was adapted with Shadow biotechnology to create the Advanced Omega class destroyer. Between the Darkness and the Light Though it was later discovered, these were not the only product of Shadow tech developed by Earthforce. The End of the Line Behind the Scenes The Omega Class Destroyer mesh was designed and built by Computer Imaging Supervisor and Foundation Imaging Co-founder Paul Bryant and had over 250,000 polygons, a huge model for it's time. The distinctive front of the ship was inspired by the look of an old South African steam engine and was intended to make look "as un-aerodynamic as possible". The ship itself included a number of features that were never seen to be utilised in the show. Perhaps the most obvious were the two very large forward cannons mounted under the forward docking bay which were intended to launch "gigaton class mines" and in fact appear very similar, if not identical to the energy mine launchers seen on the Narn Cruiser. There were also rows of Starfury launch bay hatches located along the length of the rotating centrifuge, with the idea that they would launch over much the same principle as Babylon 5's Cobra Bays. Finally, all along the sides of the ship's hull were rows of little round hatches that were intended to be missile silos, meant to evoke the effect of a broadside from a 19th Century sailing vessel. The engine section was originally a more complex, counter-intuitive affair to compensate for the rotating centrifugal section, however in the name of simplicity and expediency, the concept was pared down to just four large rear facing engines.B5Scrolls One thing that many Sci-fi fans instantly recognised, was that the profile of the centrifuge itself bore an uncanny resemblance to the Alexei Leonov Syd Mead form the 1984 film "2010. Though JMS has denied any intentional similarity, Paul Bryant has admitted that the shape was in fact "lifted" from the Syd Mead's ship as a mischievous nod to that design.JMS post on rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated - 4/10/1995Paul Bryant Interview on B5 Scrolls Appearances References Category:Omega class destroyers